Fast fashion can no longer run, did you know?
The good old days are gone forever! Entering 2019, the apparel market seems to be experiencing various pains. After the rapid expansion of global competition, many fast fashion brands have begun to experience performance decline and difficulty in survival, which heralds the decline of “fast fashion” brands.
In recent years, fast fashion and retailers including Topshop, ASOS and Marks & Spencer have successively lost the Chinese market: La Chapelle closed 1,600 stores in 3 months, and its net profit margin Plunged 94%; after seven consecutive quarters of declining global performance, GAP plans to close nearly a quarter of its stores; the number of MANGO stores has reduced from more than 200 at its peak to about 50 now; H&M is stuck in high inventory. Burn 60 tons of new clothes…
Nowadays, consumers are faced with more diverse choices, begin to pay attention to quality, sophistication and individuality, and advocate rational shopping. Be cautious about fast fashion that has acceptable styles but loses shape after washing and has to be thrown away after just a few wears. The entire clothing market seems to be moving forward in a “negative” state. This also affects the “nerve” of textile people!
As downstream customers of textile fabrics, clothing and textiles can be said to be “both prosperous and disadvantageous”. The prosperity of the clothing market directly affects the transaction atmosphere of the fabric market. Entering the second quarter, the performance of the entire textile market was unsatisfactory, and many bosses said that it was difficult to accept orders and make them! Weaving manufacturers are dragged down by high inventories and low prosperity. Although traders are not burdened by factories and are “packing light”, they are also suffering from the baptism of the general environment.
Of course, there are always two sides to everything, and there are many cloth bosses. The pressure this year is not as great as last year!
1. The market conditions are weak, but there are still orders!
The finished product market in Shengze area should be the busiest market, but it seems a little deserted recently. Although there will be samplers coming to the market from time to time to look for samples, but not many can actually get orders. However, for companies that already have a certain customer base in the market, the market is weak this year, but there are still orders. !
A textile boss who has been stationed in the finished product market for several years said that he has been quite busy these days. He has received several orders of several tens of thousands of meters one after another. The products The types are quite diverse, including linings and fabrics. “These are old product orders placed by old customers, which are relatively stable every year.” In addition, in a digital printing factory, the author also found that everyone is relatively busy. According to a trader, it has been 10 days since he confirmed the pattern. , the goods have not been made yet. Normally it can be shipped within 5 days.
So the trade market is not as bad as we imagined. It is understood that most traders currently have more or less orders on hand. Although the order volume has decreased compared with last year, the degree of shrinkage is within an acceptable range. In addition, there are many traders who are brand customers and are taking advantage of the opportunity. During this period, I will practice my internal skills and visit high-quality customers. While increasing the bonding with customers, I will further understand the needs and development direction of the downstream market.
2. The delivery date in previous years was far away, but it will be shipped quickly this year!
For traders, in previous years, they would stay at dyeing factories from April to May, begging manufacturers to ship goods as soon as possible, especially last year when “it was hard to find a piece of cloth” At that time, traders had to queue up at the weaving factory to get goods, make cash transactions, and go to the dyeing factory to work day and night, which was extremely miserable. When the dyeing factory has a warehouse explosion, it is necessary to communicate and explain to customers, and it is very busy. However, this phenomenon has been greatly alleviated this year, and it can be said that it rarely occurs.
From the perspective of weaving manufacturers, most weaving manufacturers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are currently experiencing the pain of high inventory. Therefore, the manufacturers’ voice has weakened, and many bosses will take orders. Inventory is the first priority, with accounting periods and profits coming second. Therefore, it is relatively easy for traders to get goods this year. Secondly, dyeing factories have been in a state of “hungry” this year, and warehouse explosions are rare. The current delivery time is about 7 days, and some are faster in 3-4 days. Traders do not need to intensify the pressure like last year. The “expedited” stamp gave traders a sigh of relief, both in terms of energy and money!
(The scene when the printing and dyeing warehouse exploded last year)
Of course, no matter what the traders’ mentality is, the current market is still gradually heading towards the off-season. It can be said with some regret that this trend still shows no signs of reversing. Nowadays, the role of fast fashion has undergone subtle changes, the shortcomings of its own model have gradually emerged, and changes in the overall external consumption environment have put the entire textile and apparel market into a state of fatigue.
Ten years ago, we relied on low prices to seize the market. Now we need to continue to invest in larger-scale wars to maintain our position. Now Boss Bu is concerned about the trend of Sino-US trade.We care about the RMB exchange rate, the fashion trends, the direction of customer orders… and we care more about the products! </p
